jeudi 30 décembre 2021

Kitchen Notes : Null Cell on Nemesis

Les dernières Kitchen Notes de l'année nous sont fournies par Isabella Chains sous son projet Null Cell à propos de son album Nemesis disponible dès demain sur Bandcamp. Produit entièrement sous Fruity Loops et Audacity pour un son crossover équilibré.

The last Kitchen Notes for this year are provided by Isabella Chains under the project Null Cell about the album Nemesis available tomorrow on Bandcamp. Entirely produced under Fruity Loops and Audicity for a well balanced crossover sound.

Gears and software

What gears/software did you use for Nemesis ?

I make everything in FL Studio, and record samples and vocals in Audacity. For synths I use a lot of Sytrus, Harmor/Harmless, Toxic Biohazard, GMS (all included with FL Studio), and Dexed which is a software recreation of the DX7. I'm not really that big in to hardware just because I can't really afford it right now, so all I use is a Panda Mini USB midi keyboard, a Blue Snowball USB microphone, and then just my PC.

Any evolution in your setup ?

My setup really hasn't changed in the last 3 or so years to be honest, although I want to expand especially with hardware synths and things like that.

Sound Design

Do you use/tweak presets ?

I use lots of presets for synths especially, both ones that are pre-installed and also ones that I've made. I usually don't just use them as-is though, but it saves some time if I want to make a particular sound and I know I already have something similar I can start with.

Do you design you own sound ? On which synth/plugin in particular ?

My favorite VST synths to make sounds on are Harmless and GMS in FL Studio. I also like manipulating samples in to keyboard instruments.

Writing/composing method

What would be your main writing/composing method ? Do you start classical rythm/bassline then arrange around it ? Do you already have structure in mind ? Do you improvise, record sessions then select ? ...

The majority of the time, I start with drums and percussion, then go to basslines, leads, etc. Sometimes I already have a riff in mind and I'll start with that, but it isn't super often. I almost always record vocals as the final step.

Producing/mixing method

Do you produce/mix in the box or do you use mainly external gears (effect/comp/eq...) ?

I mix everything gradually as I'm making it in the DAW. Mastering isn't really a separate step either, I just use the same master preset I've used since mid 2019 (although I might start experimenting with different methods for the next album).

What is your most painful / enjoyable step in track production ? Sound design, arrangement, mixing, mastering ?

The most frustrating step for me is listening on speakers, because EQ usually affects that much more than in headphones.